The Ear, Nose, and Throat

Abstract

Since 8 to 10% of complaints in family practice involve ear, nose, and throat (ENT) symptoms,1 the family physician must be especially skilled in their management. In addition to the commonly occurring ear, nose, sinus, and throat infections, the problems of injuries, pediatric hearing deficit, hoarseness and vocal cord abnormalities, and possible foreign body (particularily in the throat) require judgment in diagnosis and management. The extremely critical and not rare problem of malignancy must be detected early to provide the patient with the best outcome. The nasopharynx and subepiglottis are two areas of the body most often inadequately examined, primarily because of lack of equipment and experience. A basic otoscope, audiometric Screening de vice, and a nasopharyngoscope provide the family physician with nearly all the tools needed to treat most ENT problems.